At Exactly 15:34
by divine one
Summary: Any life, no matter how long and complex it may be, is made up of a single moment-the moment in which a man finds out, once and for all, who he is. Jorge Luis Borges . Simon/Zoe


Firefly  
Simon/Zoe  
Disclaimer on my profile  
890 words  
PG  
Prompt from **comment_fic**: Firefly, Simon (gen or any pair), _Any life, no matter how long and complex it may be, is made up of a single moment-the moment in which a man finds out, once and for all, who he is._ (Jorge Luis Borges)

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Any life, no matter how long and complex it may be, is made up of a single moment-the moment in which a man finds out, once and for all, who he is. (Jorge Luis Borges)

And for Simon Tam, that moment had occurred five seconds ago. On a Monday night. At exactly 15:34. In the bowels of Serenity.

He'd left the Medilab, a long day spent reorganizing and cataloging stock, covered in dust. Intent on climbing into the showers and letting the whole day just rinse off of him, he'd turned the corner, towel, soap and razor in hand, his mind buzzing with thoughts of drugs, and major artery triage steps, and River... and... simply way too many things.

He'd turned that corner and come to a complete and utter stop. His mind going blank.

Blank at the sight of a statuesque, damp, towel clad Zoe heading out of the shower room.

Water still clung to her skin in little beads on all of the parts of her body that were exposed. And there were a lot of parts of her body exposed. Had he mentioned the towel? The small, white, serviceable but thin towel that covered her full breasts, and her womanly hips... but really just barely?

Her hair, normally full of small curls, hung in thick waves; and she looked exactly like his imagination told him the Goddess Branwyn would look like.

His mouth went dry as she leaned, ever so slightly, in to the shower room, a particularly delicious curve of her thigh coming into view.

"All I'm saying River," Zoe grinned as she spoke to her shower mate, "is that you and Inara need to go easy on The Captain. He's not getting any younger. And with your youth and strength, and Inara's knowledge of... bedroom arts... you two might just kill him."

She laughed at something that River said, that Simon couldn't quite hear, and then offering a final admonition, "Medicines that help him keep it up, won't help you three if he dies of a heart attack. Be gentle!" she pulled the shower door shut.

A smirk still lit her face when she turned towards the hall and realized that she wasn't alone.

"Sorry! So sorry, I didn't mean to -" Simon turned to the side so that he wasn't staring at her so obviously, lowering his towel to his waist so that his reaction to seeing her, wearing next to nothing, was hidden.

He realized he probably hadn't hidden his reaction quickly enough when, with a laugh in her voice, Zoe asked, "What's up Doc?"

He could feel his skin tinge pink.

"I... I wanted a shower. Been cleaning all day. In the medilab." He dared to turn his eyes in her direction. "Lots of cleaning."

And, gorram, he loved looking at her. Especially when she returned his look like she was doing now. Her dark brown eyes suggesting...

For the past three or four months, he'd found himself daring to look at her... catching her eyes, and finding _her_ looking back at him. Something... something he hadn't wanted to - hadn't dared to - name flowing between them.

And then there were the touches. Serenity was a good ship, but even with just seven people on it, it was too small to avoid occasionally brushing against, bumping into, TOUCHING, ones shipmates. That being said, within the past three months, Simon had found his hand on Zoe, his body brushing against hers - in small, cramped quarters - more often than not.

His logical mind had offered him the excuse of: small ship. His emotional heart and his over active libido had offered him the suggestion of: Zoe wanting to be near him as much as he wanted to be near her.

In any case, they stood in the hall now. just the two of them. And there was the looking again. The eyes speaking words that wouldn't come to the lips... again.

Only... Zoe **was** speaking. Simon stopped staring at her cleavage, and focused on what she was saying.

"... you and me now. What with Inara and River taking up all of the Captain's time, and our new pilot taking up all of Jayne's time..." Zoe lifted her chin and with an almost visible intake of breath, she continued, "I was wonderin', Doc, if you could, maybe come to my quarters and, give me a hand with somethin'?"

She'd asked an innocent question.

Only, Simon, for once in his life, was damn certain the question wasn't so innocent. His emotions and his libido had won another battle. They'd been correct. Zoe, beautiful, out of his league Zoe, wanted him.

Yeah, any life, no matter how long and complex it may be, is made up of a single moment-the moment in which a man finds out, once and for all, who he is.

Simon had reached that moment.

And it was clear to him on a monday night, at exactly 15:34, in the bowels of Serenity, that he was a damn lucky man. Or, at least, he was about to become one.

Throwing his towel over his shoulder, he started towards Zoe, "I'd be happy to give you a hand; just... tell me want you want me to do."

Zoe smiled.

Yup. He was a damn lucky man.


End file.
